Parking lock devices for automatic transmissions of motor vehicles are widely known. As a rule a parking lock device comprises a parking lock pawl which engages in a parking lock gearwheel and immobilizes it. The parking lock gearwheel is mechanically connected to an output shaft of the transmission and thus prevents the vehicle from rolling away. The parking lock pawl is mounted on a parking lock bolt, which as a rule is fixed on the transmission housing. The parking lock device also comprises a blocking element, for example a detent, by means of which when the parking lock pawl is engaged in the parking lock gearwheel it is immobilized relative to the transmission housing.
For example, such a parking lock device is known from DE 199 33 618 A1 by the present applicant. From this it can be seen that both the parking lock bolt and the detent are supported directly relative to the transmission housing.
It is also known to support a parking lock bolt indirectly relative to the transmission housing, i.e. by means of an additional component. From DE 32 43 308 C2 a parking lock device is known, in which the parking lock pawl is supported by the parking lock bolt on a yoke, the yoke being fixed on a transmission housing by means of fixing bolts diametrically opposite one another. The yoke consists of two mutually parallel steel plates with the locking pawl between them.
From JP 2006 266 452 A, a similar parking lock device is known, in which the parking lock pawl is located between two mutually parallel plates and is supported on both plates. The parallel plates are connected to one another and also form a yoke, which is attached to the transmission housing.